


A Sigh of Relief

by bensliestan



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Comfort, Coming Out, LGBTQ Character, Lesbian Character, Nervousness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:33:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28393926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bensliestan/pseuds/bensliestan
Summary: Sonia realizes she is a lesbian and attempts to tell Ben and Leslie.
Relationships: Leslie Knope/Ben Wyatt
Comments: 7
Kudos: 19





	A Sigh of Relief

Sonia had felt this way for a long time, but she didn’t know what it was until this year. She wondered why she felt so isolated from her friends when they talked about boys, marriage, or anything that had to do with relationships. She wondered why she and her brothers liked the same characters in movies. She wondered...how would her friends and family react? Anytime anything related to dating or relationships came up, Sonia’s heart beat faster and her hands got sweaty.

It was the triplets’ freshman year of high school, and they had just moved to a new town. As it was, this was a time of huge change in their lives, and Sonia was having trouble adjusting. The boys had each other and were in a lot of the same classes and activities. Sonia, on the other hand, was in advanced classes and knew no one. She still liked ice skating, sure- but it was a solo sport and she was often alone.

One day after her ice skating lesson, Ben was driving her home. As she sat and watched the rain roll down the car window, Ben could tell something was bothering her. Ever since the move she had been pretty quiet and not herself, which worried her parents. She would come downstairs for dinner, eat in silence, and go back upstairs where she’d lock herself in her room until the next day. When confronted, she just made the excuse that she had a lot of homework from her honors classes and had to get back to work. Today, she said the same thing when Ben asked why she was so quiet.

“I’m just thinking about the homework I have to do. I’m fine, dad- really.” she said, while glancing at him briefly. He gave her a small smile and squeezed her arm, still worried about her.

Later that night, Leslie got home from a long day of work per usual. She was the governor of Indiana now, and often got home just before dinner was ready. Today, she got home while Ben was putting the food on the table.

“Hi, honey. How was your day?”

“Oh, I’ve had better. But I’m home now and ready to spend the night with my wonderful husband and beautiful children.” she said as she smiled and gave Ben a kiss. “How are you, babe?”

“I’m alright. But one of our little munchkins may not be.” he said as he sighed. Leslie’s face softened. She loved how he still called them his little munchkins, even though they were turning 14 in December. “I picked Sonia up from her ice skating lesson today, and she was quiet, but something seemed off. She just hasn’t been herself recently.”

Leslie nodded in agreement. She knew something had felt wrong with Sonia, but it was a sensitive topic. Every time she tried to bring it up, it seemed to make Sonia even quieter. It reminded Leslie of when Ben came out as bisexual to her, and how alone he said he had felt. “So, what should we do?” she asked quietly, as Ben embraced her.

He kissed her forehead softly and inhaled slowly. He loved how his wife always smelled slightly of vanilla sugar. “I think we should talk to her tonight- just her. Without Stephen and Wesley. I think she’ll be more comfortable with just us.”

“I hope so.” Leslie sighed. “Are you ready?” Ben nodded silently. “Kids, dinner!” The boys came bounding down the stairs like usual, ready to eat.

“Hi, mom!” Stephen said, as he grabbed a plate. Leslie gave him a quick hug and asked how his day was. “Good, I guess. Nothing really happened.” At this point, Sonia came quietly down the stairs, trying to avoid eye contact with her family.

“Hey sweetie.” Leslie cooed. She kissed her forehead and embraced her, perhaps for a second too long. They got their plates ready and sat down to eat. Sonia was quiet, as expected, and the boys didn’t seem to notice at all.

After dinner, Stephen and Wesley left to go play baseball in the backyard. Sonia silently breathed a sigh of relief and looked at her parents. She didn’t usually get alone time with them, especially with Leslie’s new job. Ben grabbed Leslie’s hand under the table and squeezed. “Hey Sonia, do you want to talk? Just the three of us?”

Sonia’s stomach dropped and was filled with butterflies. Could they know? She had been planning to tell them eventually, but…tonight? Was it a good time? She felt so lonely and just wanted someone to talk to. “Sure, I can take a few minutes off from homework. What about?”

They moved to the couch in the living room. Sonia was snuggled between Ben and Leslie, watching her hands in her lap. Leslie glanced at Ben, and put her arm around Sonia. “Soni, you know you can tell us anything, sweetie. We will always love you, no matter what.”

Sonia burst into tears, and rested her head on her mother’s shoulder. “Oh, Soni…it’s going to be okay. Just let it out.” Leslie hugged her daughter tighter, and Ben put his arm around both of them. Sonia let herself cry for several minutes, enveloped in a hug from both of her parents. When she started to calm down, she looked up at her mother with tears in her eyes.

“There’s just so much going on…the move, the new school, not having any friends…I’ve been feeling so lonely, and sad…” she paused and took a deep breath. This felt like the scariest thing she’d ever done, even though she knew her parents would accept and love her. She looked down at her hands. “Lately, I’ve been feeling differently…about people…mainly, who I like.” Sonia paused, hoping her parents would be okay with what she was saying. “I think I like women.”

Leslie breathed a sigh of relief and pulled Sonia in tighter, kissing the top of her head. She was so happy that her daughter felt she could tell them important things. After all, Ben and Leslie had already guessed that Sonia was a lesbian...they were just waiting for her to tell them. Sonia started to cry, and Ben placed his other hand on her knee.

“Sonia, sweetie- it’s okay! We love you so much, and we are so proud of you. This doesn’t change that in the slightest.”

Leslie smiled sympathetically and nodded. “Your dad is right, hon. You’re allowed to love whoever you want to, and I’m so happy you told us.” She paused, giving Sonia the space to talk if she wanted to. Sonia’s crying had been reduced to quiet sniffles and she was taking deep breaths.

“Thanks. I didn’t know how you’d react, if you’d be okay with…” her voice trailed off. This broke Leslie’s heart. Sonia didn’t know if her own parents would accept her? She looked at Ben with sad eyes and Ben started to rub her back soothingly.

“I’m sorry you felt so alone, sweetie. But you’re not alone now- you have us.” He paused and looked at Leslie before returning his gaze to his daughter. “There’s something you don’t know about me, Sonia. I’m bisexual- I like men and women both. I didn’t fully accept myself until your mother taught me how to. I know how alone you must have felt…I’ve been there too.”

Sonia looked up at her dad with her large, teary eyes. Her eyes were the same color as Leslie’s- as blue as the sky, filled with hope and wonder. Ben loved how much she took after her mother.

“You can talk to us anytime, okay? We’re here for you.” he said, as he smiled at her.

“Right. Anytime.” Leslie echoed, hoping Sonia felt more comfortable now. “You have no idea how much we love you.”

Sonia stood up, and gave each of them a long hug. “Thank you both for listening. It means a lot.” She wiped away a tear. “I’m going to do some homework now. I feel so relieved now that I told you.”

Leslie smiled and gave her one last squeeze on the arm. As she walked back to her room, Leslie gave a sigh of relief and leaned into her husband. He wrapped his arms around her, feeling her heart beat against his chest. Everything was right in the world again.


End file.
